Count D's Pet Shop: Fulfiller of Dreams
by Cassandra Telford
Summary: Count D has grown tired of the San Francisco Police always watching him and has decided to move to Tokyo. This news is taken very hard by Emma, a young woman who's life, a woman who harbors deep feelings for him.
1. Chapter 1

There he was, enjoying the last of a sweet meal, alone in a booth in the back of the restaurant. Emma felt slightly out of place in the fancy café but carried herself with a confident elegance that made up for her casual attire. She approached him slowly. "Count D. I need to talk to you." The tall and graceful Chinese glanced up with a small smile on his face.

"Ah yes, Emma. Please, sit down. How are you liking your new pet?"

The young woman glanced out the front window of the shop at the man standing outside. "Oh, he's great." The tall man who was standing at the door like a sentry was in fact a collie dog. To Emma and the Count, he appeared as a man with light summer clothing despite the cold and bushy orange-brown and white hair. His name was Tucker and he smiled happily at every single person who passed by, though all they saw was a brilliantly groomed and exceedingly intelligent dog. He was the perfect companion for Emma, who had been alone for far too long. "He's really fantastic Count, but…"

"Yes?" He had a curious look on his face. Emma had always come to him with problems but he had been sure things were going much better for her these days, especially with her new pet by her side.

"You… you're talking about leaving." She strove to keep emotion out of her voice but couldn't meet his eyes.

"Ah, yes," said the Count inscrutably.

"Where will you go?" Emma asked, staring at a knot in the wood of the tabletop.

"I've always found Tokyo to my liking," he answered calmly, sipping a cup of tea. "It will be a pleasant change."

Emma clenched her hands in her lap as a hint of despair crept into her voice. "And if what I know of you is true, you'll never return here, will you?"

"Ah…" The Count set down his tea with a tiny smile, but there was a hint of sadness on his face. "No, I won't. I've always found it best not to, ah, return to the scene, as it were."

" 'Of the crime'?" Emma looked up, meeting his gaze, and said with a casual cheeriness that she didn't feel, "D, you're crazy. The people here love you."

"_Au contraire_, my dear. Many people would here would love to see me go." He nodded pointedly at a police detective sitting across the restaurant.

"You're not a criminal." Emma's voice was low and defensive. She knew the cops had been on D's back since they found out about his pet shop but as far as she knew the Count hadn't engaged in anything illegal.

"They believe I am," he responded matter-of-factly.

"Count, the cops don't know what they're talking about! And Leon Orcot couldn't apprehend a baby in a straightjacket."

"My dear detective's lack of skill aside, they want the shop shut down Emma. Murder, drug trafficking, slave trade. All thing for which I am under suspicion. It doesn't reflect well on their department."

Emma slammed her hand down on the table. "But none of it's true! They're idiots, D! You run a pet shop, it's not you're fault they don't understand the animals' human forms. You don't even like humans, why would you house them in your shop? And it's incense you burn, not a narcotic. They've got nothing on you, they can't even get you for animal abuse. You always make sure your pets are well-taken care of."

"Of course." The Count was far calmer than Emma about the things the police suspected of him. "And the first charge?"

"You're not a murderer, Count D. You haven't killed anybody."

Count D looked Emma directly in the eye. For a moment the depth of their mismatched colors took her in and she wondered at the Chinese wish-granter and all his mystery. He was like a different person. "Oh, I haven't?" he asked her, deadly serious. "And how would you know, my dear?"

Through the haze of his intense stare, Emma realized that there was still so much she didn't know about the Count and his past. He seemed to be capable of nearly anything, but surely not murder. "I believe you wouldn't…" she said slowly, tearing her eyes away and staring at the table again. "That's not who you are, it's not what you want. You don't kill people. Teach them lessons maybe, but not kill."

He sighed and turned his gaze from the girl and instantly she felt the chill of the unknown dissipate. "What other logic can they follow when the Obituaries page of the newspaper has become little more than a list of my customers?"

"Those people died because of their own horrific flaws; insatiable greed and jealousy, it was their own fault. You gave them instructions, they didn't follow. But that aside, so many people have been made happy by the pets you've given them. I don't know what I'd do without Tucker. You changed Maggie from a brat into a nice little girl. Madam Sultana and the other animals are even bringing Chris out of his shell. And your birds inspired Jeanne LaCroix's finest performance ever!"

"And her last. Emma, the happy endings don't erase the nightmares, the deaths."

"But those weren't your fault!" Emma couldn't believe that the Count was ready to give so much credence to the ramblings of one foolish police detective. "Count, animals will be animals! As intelligent and sophisticated as you and I and few others know them to be, they are still _animals._ And it's not like they can be tried. To a judge and jury they're just another cat, another dog, another house pet."

"And what of the Kirin? And the Totetsu?" It wasn't a challenge but a question. "What is my dear detective supposed to think of events like those?"

"No one's going to believe a testimony about a mythical beast of ancient China. And anyone who sees T-chan thinks he's some kind of goat, not a man-eating beast." Emma could see that her arguments were having little effect on his mindset. She was becoming desperate. "Please, Count! You have no reason to leave!"

For a minute Count D just watched Emma, wondering what drove her to try so hard to make him stay. Usually he could read people like books. They were simple creatures really, compared to the utterly complex minds of animals. But he had never seen this side of the young woman. He sighed and sipped his tea quietly, going for an indirect approach. "Nobody else seems quite as upset about my imminent departure." He wasn't expecting Emma's next outburst though.

"It's different for them!" she all but shouted, reaching across the table and clutching his hands in hers. "They can live without you! I can't!" Emma hadn't meant for this to come out but she realized she couldn't keep her feelings so secret forever. But Count D pulled his hands back and turned away with a pained look on his face, so Emma quickly lied, "And not even in a romantic way, but as a friend." Emma tried to calm herself down as she folded her hands in her lap and focused on them rather than meet his eyes. "Count D. Please. You can't just leave me."

The Count stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. He was not used to being so wanted, but he hid that smoothly. After a pause he said, "Why don't you come have tea with me tomorrow? At my shop."

Emma forced the emotion out of her voice. The Count's rejection had made it clear to her that she was only a friend to him, if even that. "Is that a good idea?"

"Are you afraid?" There was a tiny smile on his lips.

"No," she answered honestly, her brow furrowed as she continued to stare at her lap.

He smiled wider as he placed the payment for his meal on the table and stood up. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. At four. Good day." He turned and walked toward the door. Emma glanced up quickly, still emotionless.

"Count D." He stopped and half-turned to look back at her. She looked directly into his eyes. "Change your mind. Stay." The Count nodded an acknowledgement and left the restaurant.


	2. Chapter 2

"Emma?" Tucker asked as she walked out of the restaurant.

"Come on, Tucker," she said wearily. "Let's go home." She clicked her fingers out of habit and set off at a brisk walk with Tucker trotting along behind her.

"Emma, what's wrong? You're upset." The concern was clear on his face. Emma reached over and ruffled his hair.

"I'm fine Tuck, just a little sad." She sighed.

Tucker watched the ground for a minute or so as some other people walked past him and Emma. He wasn't supposed to talk to Emma while other people were around. Then, "I saw Count D walk out of the restaurant before you. He looked a little sad too." He looked up at Emma as she glanced down in surprise.

"He did?"

"Yeah, he didn't say hi to me. I don't think he even noticed me." Tucker stared at the ground again, this time because he wasn't sure what else to say. Then he looked up at her again. "Emma? Is the Count really leaving?"

A determined look came over her face as she stared straight ahead. "No. Not if I have anything to do with it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Good afternoon, welcome to—"

"Count D's Pet Shop," Emma finished for him as she walked in with a small package tucked under her arm."

"Oh, Emma."

"Hello, Count D."

He smiled brightly and gestured to a small table in the corner of the room. "Please, sit down." Emma did so, placing the package under her chair as the Count made a fresh pot of tea. Once the tea was served, he joined her at the table and observed her over steepled fingertips. "So now, what is it that you want?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You called _me_ here, remember?"

"True, but I did so because I know there is something you want. My pet shop is a place of wish-fulfillment for many people. What is it that you want?"

Emma paused and stared into her teacup, slightly disgusted that he was treating her like a client. She had known him for over a year and "I want you to change your mind," she said quietly. "I want you not to go to Tokyo. I want you to stay."

A hint of a curious smile played across his lips. It was time for a more direct approach in his search for Emma's motive. "And why do you want that?"

Emma's eyes widened incredulously as though the answer to this was obvious. It took a moment for her to put together an answer that wasn't the blatant truth she was too ashamed to reveal. "You make life exciting," she said plainly. "For me, and for everyone else around here. Your shop is unique and interesting and like nothing else anywhere." She had a thought: If D was going to treat her like a client, she would play to his business side. "And think of all the people walking by outside right now. How many are potential customers? And how many have already come here and seen the magic that you work?"

"Or the horror?" Count D said with a smirk.

"Horror?" Emma asked angrily. "D, these animals have saved lives."

The Count sighed and sipped his tea, aware of the argument Emma had prepared, the same one from yesterday. "Are we really to get into that debate again, Emma?"

But Emma was wouldn't give up. "Come on, you can't deny that you've made an impact here, a positive one. Chris still comes here every weekend, doesn't he? And me, I practically lived here when I first found out about it." Emma pulled out her trump card. "For Christ's sake, Count, you saved my life!"

"And endangered it in many more ways," he countered smoothly, eyes closed and frowning.

"That's beside the point!" Emma was nearly shouting again. "How am I supposed to repay you if you're in Tokyo?!"

He kept his eyes on his tea as he spoke, hardly affected by Emma's growing anger and desperation. "I require no repayment."

"Maybe you don't but, Count, think of all the lives you've changed here. Think off all the people you've effected. Who in San Francisco hasn't heard of Count D?"

The Count gazed around his pet shop. "Maybe that's why it's time to move on."

Emma stood angrily. "How can you?!" She paced in frustration, glaring at the Count. "After all that, how can you just turn your back on this place?!" Her gaze softened and she stopped pacing as she wondered, her voice tinged with sadness. "How can you just walk away?"

He looked up and met her eyes, saying truthfully and with no apology, "After many years, it becomes rather easy."

Emma clutched the back of her chair and stared at her hands, her long red hair obscuring her face. She spoke quietly. "Count… maybe you don't need us, maybe you don't need San Francisco, but some of us need you." Her voice was thick with emotion as she fought hard to keep it steady. "I need this place. I need this pet shop, these animals. I have more friends here than I've ever had in my life." She raised her head a fraction to find the count watching her sympathetically. She took a deep breath, trying not to break down and crying in front of those soft and understanding eyes. "I know you prefer animal company to human. Most of the time I do too. But please," she pleaded, "please. If for nothing else, stay for me. I need you."

The wise and collected Count D didn't know exactly how to respond to this, as so often he simply brushed off human emotion and let others deal with it. But here was a woman ready to fall to pieces because he would be moving halfway around the world. He responded indirectly with a simple observation rather than commit to or deny her request. "You've become so attached in such a short time." He kept his gaze slightly away from hers so as to not make her uncomfortable, or to mask his confusion. "Most customers only have that deep and instant connection with the animals."

Emma's eyes dropped again. She couldn't think of anything else to say; the constant debating had made her weary and she felt she could hide no longer. "You don't realize how easy it is for normal humans to fall in love, do you?"

The Count's eyes widened for the briefest instant and then softened again. In a moment he was standing next to Emma, lightly placing his hand on hers. "Emma… I really must leave. My dear Detective Orcot will stop at nothing to see me behind bars. I can't risk that. Who would take care of my pets?"

"They have no evidence against you," she said through gritted teeth, though she still hadn't moved. "And you know that if anything ever happened I would be willing to take of all of them."

The Count couldn't help but smile a bit; the animals in the shop held Emma as their favorite human aside from him. "I'm sure they'd love that, my dear, but—"

"Fine." Emma cut in abruptly. She pulled away from him angrily and began to gather her things. "Fine," she repeated. "Forget it. I give up."

"Emma—"

She began pulling on her jacket, glaring around and not meeting the Count's eyes. "You know, I had hoped that I could convince you to stay. That I might even be a reason. But I guess somewhere deep down I knew you'd never value a human that much."

The comment stung, for Count D had actually grown quite attached to Emma. Though he was positive that no connection would ever be as strong as those he shared with his animals, he didn't want Emma to feel that she meant nothing to him. He tried to calm her, "Emma, please—" but she was already at the door. Then she turned and threw the package she had been holding to him. She still wouldn't look at him and her next words lacked the friendliness and dedication she had demonstrated earlier.

"Here. A parting gift."

The Count looked at the slightly torn paper, seeing the label on the wrapper underneath. "But this is—" He was at a loss for words. It was an exotic sweet that he had waited for years to try. Because of it's increasing rarity and horrific price, he had begun to wonder if her would ever try it.

"Yeah," Emma said, "I had it imported. I was planning to give it to you in two weeks but now I know that I'll hardly even be a memory to you by that time." Before the Count could respond, she was halfway out the door. "Goodbye, Count D."

With that, the door swung shut with a finality that even the Count slightly feared.


End file.
